Monday, December 08, 2008

for the birds.

My husband has been gone pretty much all day and night for many many many days with work (and has taken our family car many times due to the bad weather), so we have been tucked in a bit at home. The boys seem to be a bit more intense and moody when dad is gone so much, so I have been trying to keep the holiday crafting projects rolling in a bit at a time, to keep us busy and happy...craftiness plus lots of games, baking, and snowball fights on the deck is good.

Every year we like to make pine cone bird feeders. They are easy and look nice out on the tree. We have had a bit of snow already this year, but a 'big one' is hitting us tonight and tomorrow. When there is big snow, our other bird feeders usually get blocked a bit, so it is the perfect time for the pine cones!

It is easy. You just need UNsweetened creamy peanut butter, a little coconut oil, pine cones, birdseed, and ribbon.

Scoop out a container of creamy peanut butter into a bowl and stir in a tablespoon of the oil to thin it down a little so that it isn't too thick or sticky for the birds. Don't want to choke them. An alternative to the oil is to mix in a little corn meal - that makes the peanut butter more gritty and easier for birds to eat as well.

Tie ribbons on the pine cones. Put the pine cone in the peanut butter and spoon to coat. Let drip a little, then put it into a bowl of birdseed. Roll to coat well. Done! Hang it out on a tree, up close to a branch!

Within 60 seconds of hanging our pine cones on the tree we had birds already feeding on them (not exaggerating - we walked in and closed door and they were on it). Fun!

16 comments:

These are so sweet. I remember making them with Autumn when she was little. I think these would be wonderful gifts. I have some natural peanut butter in the cupboard that the kids won't touch.(no sugar in it, ugh!) I should make some of these for the birds. ;>

we did something similar last year, but the neighborhood boys destroyed them. we hung htem in the tree that is just next to our balcony. gotta love apartment block living. the boys were heartbroken so i'm not sure if we'll do it again this year.

I bake bird cookies with many of my classes at the Nature Center where I work, usually starting around THanksgiving. I call it "Thanksgiving for the Birds" -- they're basically do-nut-like cookies, so you can tie a string thru the hole. We often cover these cookies with PB and roll them in seeds, similar to yours.

We're going to do these after the holidays when we redecorate our tree for the birds. Zoe loved getting messy making them when she was littler. I'll have to wait and see if she'll be willing to help this time. :)

So glad I saw this on Pinterest this morning! I was just asking my husband last night if we could make these in Dec for my son's camping party but didn't know if birds would be around to eat. Guess so and now I have a craft ready for the party! :)

About Me

Hi! I am Denise, mom to two free spirited boys. We spend our days living creatively and mindfully, unschooling, following our passions, eating locally, creating our life -- and having fun.
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